Today in labor history: 100,000 march on D.C. for ERA

On July 9, 1978, over 100,000 marched on Washington D.C. in support of the Equal Rights Amendment.

The "March for Equality" marked the largest demonstration in support of the ERA up to that point and was organized by the National Organization of Women. "This is just the beginning" said Eleanor Smeal, president of NOW. "We are here because our hearts are here, our souls are here and our spirits long for liberty and justice."

Eleanor Holmes Norton, then a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asked : "How will people look at us 50 years from now if Congress doesn't even give us more time? We look back on history and we wonder what all the fuss was about over an issue. The point of ERA is to get people to recognize that change is already here."